Control
by Eha
Summary: Twists and turns around every corner, who is in control? Read as Jellal accompanies Fairy Tail on a task heading through perilous obstacles to save their red headed companions, and...the world. Life just seems to be like one big illusion and a cry for help from the gods. Rated M for violence and later Lemons.
1. The Fourth Day

_**I do not own Fairy Tail**_

**The story starts up at the end of the Grand Magic Games for day four. What leads on afterwards does not follow the story line. **

A dark aura filled the stadium as dusk drew near. The blue hue followed by layers and shades of orange. Clouds faded to the salmon color and violet shadows that thickly outlined the fluffy fog, but the dark aura he saw could easily obscure that beautifully serene view. No one else seemed to notice the thick presence around them and yet he could notice it so clearly. One thing though, it seemed to have movement. He definitely knew it had trajectory and traveled away from the stadium, almost as if following a person. He knew he had to act fast for this could be a clue closer to his objective. Since he was away from all the crowds he had a better chance of not being stopped by anyone, including the magic council's custody force. His movement was swift , each step in rhythm with the last, almost as if he were gliding on thin air.

He could see it, the figure grew as he neared the closer to the powerful magic being emitted. It never fled nor approached. Within a few mere seconds he stood inches away from the hidden figure.

"_Reveal yourself_", he spoke sternly.

The figure slowly, as if in a slow motion movie before a climax scene, turned. Covered from head to toe in a dark violet, velvet cloak and face shadowed by a hood. there stood the figure, facing him.

"_Reveal yourself_", he repeated calmer than before yet with a tint more anxiety behind his words.

Slowly, nimble fingers grabbed a hold of each side of the cloak's hood. As each second passed the figure drew the hood down an inch more.

Seconds passed...

Eyes staring widely back and forth, they stood silently. Everything seemed to be standing still in time, the wind, all sound, and especially their movements seemed motionless through time.

_**Earlier in the day**_

The battles have just concluded as Sting and Rogue lie, faces planted into the ground as the crowd riled up to Fairy Tail's victory and now first place in the games. Natsu sent an adieu to the crew and left to to retrieve Gajeel. He planned to call it a night afterwards. Erza, Laxus, and Gray headed onward to meet up with the rest of the guild at their hotel's bar.

**Erza**

Followed by Gray and behind Laxus she entered the cavern. Ecstatic faces and cheers greeted her at every angle. Everyone was cheering and laughing, all her gutsy guild mates challenged Cana to a drinking contest. Others whose tolerance level was surpassed found new, creative ways to reek havoc. Should she partake?

"_Erza you lean mean devil machine ",_ slurred Bickslow in a drunken stoop. "_Join the party you stiff", _he yelled across the room as he lifted his jug of booze, most likely pure rum knowing his daredevil antics.

That answered her question. She grabbed a shot of tequila and poured it down her throat. She wouldn't take it to far, she she still had to show integrity even if she was given a day to allow herself 24 hours of a somewhat quiet room, still considering Natsu, Lucy, and Happy would be in and out, to calm her hangover. She took on jello shot challenges by a few mates, not including Cana, and managed to hang on to her conscience side. She even allowed herself to obtain a few bruises in reckless games. She emerged from the bar calling back to her friends.

"_Don't party to much longer, I'll return shortly", _hiccuping only a few times between words.

"_I'll beat some sense into people in your place", _Cana giggled back waving her arms freely in the air like a maniac with a grin spread across her face from one ear to the other.

Erza went for a stroll along the side of the canal as she wandered deep into her thoughts until she stumbled over a pebble and her face kissed the ground.

"_I'm starting to take after Wendy now_", she mumbled to herself.

She quickly lifted her head, scanning her surroundings to make sure nobody heard her. She placed her palms parallel to the surface and pushed herself up. She sighed in relief and scoffed at herself with her eyes closed in embarrassment from her actions a few seconds ago. She opened her eyes and spotted a person atop the stairs in front of her; yet, the person seemed frozen, scared to move. Erza darted up the stairs to help the stranger but was taken back herself when she reached the top.

In front of her Jellal began to turn towards her with such a torn expression. As she began to open her mouth she froze. During the moments before she tried to speak Jellal moved to the side to expose another person with them. There she stood, no emotions, no words. In front of Erza and Jellal stood Erza Nightwalker from Edolas, as clear as day.


	2. Warning Signs

_**I really hope you enjoy the story since this is my first fanfic.**_

_**I do not own Fairy Tail**_

Frozen in step, Erza stood shocked. In front of her stood a person she never thought she would see again. It was almost like looking in a mirror, minus the hair length and clothing. Their faces portrayed one another in perfect synchronization. Jellal could not believe his eyes. When he first discovered who the mysterious figure was he believed it was Erza, his childhood friend and love. He did not know whether or not he should be glad it is not her or worried now that there was two of her. This could be the Erza from the other world, Edolas, he has heard so much about or possibly Erza from the past or likewise future.

"_Knightwalker_", Erza Scarlet spoke coldly.

The Erza Jellal knew never went by such a name. This twin most likely was from Edolas.

"_I mean you no trouble_", Erza Knightwalker spoke calmly.

"_Why are you here_", Jellal intervened.

Knightwalker's brows furrowed with a look of distress. She closed her eyes and pinched the arch of her nose, brows still furrowed. Several seconds flew by, even minutes as she held that position. Finally, almost like a burst of energy was exerted from her eyes as she opened her eyes and looked straight toward the pair standing in front of her.

"_I don't know_", Knightwalker said seriously.

Jellal and Erza just face-palmed their foreheads as the expression annoyance spread across their faces.

"_I don't remember anything_", she sighed out.

Jellal's head emerged from his hand and cleared his throat. "_What was the last thing you remember from back in Edolas_", Jellal questioned.

"_Well..._", Knightwalker trailed off. She looked downward intently with her index finger tapping on the left of her bottom lip while she pushed her brain into overdrive for an answer. "_I was helping rebuild the capital city like every other day_", she said with anguish.

Then she began to bite her lip. "_There was one thing that seemed off_", she whispered. She removed her finger from her lip, turned on her heel, and paced to the ledge overlooking the ocean. She slowly and delicately placed her palms over the railing, almost like she was grabbing a hold of a fragile flower, and tilted her head up towards the sky to stare into the distance. Her eyes beamed toward the sky and her stare pierced through the clouds and world all together as if trying to create a hole leading back to her world. "_Ever since Jellal took over as our king he has put those of us who worked closely to the previous king to work as punishment rebuilding the city's capital just as I was doing in my last memory_",she spoke with concern.

Jellal and Erza stood shoulder to shoulder listening so intently that they never noticed how close they stood to eachother.

"_To make sure we were not up to anything suspicious Jellal decided to spread us out and assign guards to watch over us. Since I was one of the worse I was assigned seven guards_", she spoke as her nose twitched and her forehead wrinkled. "_During my last memory I noticed all seven guards were not there. I would understand one or two but all seven..._", she started to trail off. She was silent for a few more seconds then she closed her eyes, lowered her head towards the ground, and released a long sigh. "_I never took it to mean anything. I thought they had all just been late", _she she spoke as she opened her eyes, lifted her head, and turned to face the others.

"_How long have you been on Earthland_", Erza questioned Knightwalker.

"_It's hard to keep track. As soon as I knew I was here I decided to scope you out. It couldn't have been to long, maybe a week's time_", she spoke vaguely.

"_And you were waiting until after the games to speak with her_", Jellal chirped in.

"_Exactly_", Knightwalker admitted. She began to smile as tears streamed down her cheeks and continued, "_How could I be so foolish_", she choked.

A whip like sound embodied the air as Knightwalker wailed. Her body fell limp as she fell to the ground.

"_Knightwalker!_", Erza cried out. She rushed over to the girl's motionless lifeform. She kneeled beside her replica and held Knightwalker's head and upper torso in her arms over her lap.

"_You should have never interfered, Titania"_, a voice pricked through the shadows.

"_nyaa~_", followed the words from another voice.

Millianna and Kagura appeared from behind a group of trees and bushes.

"_What did you do that for"_, Jellal yelled out.

"_You_", Kagura spoke emotionless.

Jellal stepped one foot back and held his hand out in front of him to warn the female not to come any closer.

"_Erza..._", Millianna trailed as she neared the two girl's on the ground. "_What..._", she continued unclear, unable to create many words for the situation. Erza just sat there, unwary.

"_Jellal_", Kagura spoke up. She stood in her battle stance, more focused than ever before. "_Prepare yourself_", she croaked as she wielded her sword.

All of a sudden the wind began to circle around the group, increasing speed by each passing second. The wind started to close in on not Kagura or Jellal but Erza. She still remained motionless through the events, holding Knightwalker, her hair shielding her face.

"_If you dare to stand in my way than I'll take you down as well_", Kagura said clearly. Erza said nothing. Kagura launched forward, holding her sword parallel to the ground. She moved so fast she was hard to pinpoint. Right as she leaped towards Erza, sword pointed at Erza's heart, Erza's body lifted into the air and a beam of pure light energy took over her body's outline. When the beam dispersed Erza was still floating, surrounded by only floating red ribbons covering parts of her. She lifted her hand in the direction of the approaching female. With her hand in front of her and Kagura a few feet away she curled all her fingers into a fist except for her index finger which then shot a violet beam outwards straight at Kagura. Kagura toppled backwards onto her back, pained and breathless.

Millianna froze in her place, unable to help her partner due to her unwillingness to hurt her friend.

It did not take Kagura long to jump back on her feet and dash after Erza again. She leaped into the air, positioning her sword in her hands, and launched toward Erza again. Erza was pushed back by an alarming force, completely out of breath, but Kagura was still feet away from the exasperated girl falling back.

Kagura could _n_ot believe her eyes, stunned to say the least.

As Erza was pushed back by an unknown force her body tipped over the railing and sent her plummeting down. Blood splatter followed her trail in the air, some landing on the unconscious Knightwalker.

Jellal darted forward, reaching his arm out to catch Erza but ended up falling right behind her instead. Through the force of gravity hammering him down he still managed to reach Erza, tucking her between his arms and chest for her own protection.

THUD!

Time ticked on. No movement. Time by even more, slower it seemed.

Jellal began to stir and slowly open his eyes with difficulty, unable to fully see anything. "_Wha...hu..m...whe...I.._", he moaned. All he could really do for time being was murmur on. He waved his arms around the air to find something, anything to grab on to or tell him where he was. Then he began to pat around him. His hand brushed against something warm, softer than what the ground should feel like.

"_Eerrghh_", he groaned. Jellal rubbed his eyes and was able to open them the whole way now. To the side of him laid a pained girl who showed no movement. "_Erza_", Jellal exclaimed. He grabbed the red haired mage by each shoulder and shook her. He couldn't believe his eyes. Erza, the great Titania, looked dead as she lie on the ground. The ribbons that flowed around her were now plastered against her frame. He lifted her face closer to his, begging her to wake up.

Her eyes lifted open and stared at the blue haired mage close to her.

"_Oh god thank you_", he cheered. He tucked her head below his chin against his neck.

"_Jellal_", Erza spoke up.

Jellal did not budge.

"_My clothing, the ribbons_", she said.

"_I don't care. I almost lost you again. I can not let that happen_", he cried out interrupting her.

Erza just smiled and hugged Jellal in return. The two never moved from those positions for the next few minutes.

"_What happened to you_", Jellal asked.

"_Knightwalker. I heard her voice and felt magical energy engulf me. I had little to no control. She must have somehow took over my body_", she explained.

Right as Jellal opened up his mouth to speak again he was blasted against a stone wall in the blink of an eye. Erza turned to watch a figure descend to their level; He had short, black hair, a black cloak, and was mostly shadowed. All she could really tell was that person's presence was far from good.

"_Who are you_", she yelled.

All he did was grin. He lifted his hand slowly in front of him and Erza's body followed pursuit, lifting her from the ground. Then he rammed his fist into her gut, knocking her out cold. He threw the female over his shoulder and began to retreat. The ribbons still encased her body as the man carried her back up using his dark magic.

"_Don't ...you dare_", Jellal cringed in pain towards the man as he left with Erza before he completely blacked out.


	3. Explain This

**_I want to thank everyone for the reviews and those following or have favored this story. _**

**_I know I left with a cliff hanger before so this story is not much action but clearing up only a few bit of some questions you may have. What would a good story be if it could not hook the readers along to want more._**

**_I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights reserved._**

He felt a tantalizing sensation wash over his body like a tidal wave washing ashore. Pass every bone and between each fiber of muscle the feeling spread starting from his chest and spreading towards his head, hands, and feet. He gained conscience when his body was almost fully shocked back to reality. His eyes fluttered halfway open to reveal pink, blue, and yellow blobs of color. His eyes caught muffled sounds like someone underwater trying to hear the voices above the water's surface. His body started to shake, not like he was convulsing so he knew he was not falling into a seizure, but what could be causing him to shake so much? His sense of touch started to resurface. He knew now. Tiny little hands were wrapped halfway across the width of each shoulder. As his hearing began to clear up he could make out a faint fluttering sound.

When his eyes were able to fully widen he saw Wendy, a young, dark blue haired female healing mage knelled over him to the side. Above her flew a small blue cat known as an exceed called Happy and beside Happy stood his father figure Natsu, whose pink hair and fiery attitude stood out anywhere he went. To the opposite side of him stood Lucy, a blond celestial wizard. She was facing Natsu with her hands pressed roughly to her hips uttering words he could not comprehend at the moment. Happy looked around worriedly while Natsu and Lucy conversed. Wendy was the only one who focused intently on him.

"_I think he is finally coming around to his senses", _Wendy said with relief.

Natsu and Lucy stopped their discussion and turned their attention to Wendy and the man below her.

"_How are you feeling", _Lucy asked sincerely.

He did not respond.

"_Can you speak", _Natsu poked fun at the guy.

"_He's still a little incoherent", _Wendy hissed back at the two.

They bickered back and forth until Happy returned from scouting out the area and gave the three a quick lecture to quiet him, which was usually Erza's role.

"_This is no time to be bickering like little children. We have two people missing, one more day of the Grand Magic Games, an evil Zeref out on the streets, and Jellal on the edge of consciousness in front of us", _Happy nagged.

"_You're not one to usually lecture someone", _ Lucy complained.

"_Well someone has to do it since Erza's not here to smack some sense into you all. Instead you're taking advantage of it like she's no longer here", _Happy snapped.

Everyone just bowed their head in regret for the way they had been acting. They knew they had to be serious, for their friend's sake.

From the sound of his name and another one mentioned during their lecture Jellal snapped out of his daze and bolted into an upright position.

Every instantly shifted their attention over to Jellal.

"_Jellal", _Lucy exclaimed.

"_I thought you said he was incoherent", _Natsu complained to Wendy.

Before Wendy had a chance to retort Jellal had spoken up again, "_I was...Something you said had just caught my attention". _ He had his eyes closed and his whole face pinched as he held his hand against his forehead. His head was pounding.

"_let's just get you somewhere safe so you can regain your strength", _Wendy insisted.

Without waiting for confirmation Happy swooped down and grabbed Jellal under each arm. It took time for Happy to bring each of his friends back up to the ledge before they traveled back to the hotel Natsu and the others were staying at.

Back at the hotel no one had much of a chance to stand, let alone making to the beds, due to their lack of energy and ended up passing out along the floor, couches, and beds. Some of them had their heads falling off the couches and their legs dangled over the top while others laid diagonal, sideways, and hanging halfway off the bed. A few even managed to completely ignore the fact that they had passed out on top of another person.

When morning arrived and the clock struck eight Natsu was the first to wake. He swung his legs over the bed where he had fell asleep over Elfman last night. He grabbed his hands together behind his back and stretched the outwards above his head to stretch his back, torso, and arms. He grabbed the edge of the mattress and propelled himself forward to his feet. He observed the rest of the room and discovered he was the only one awake. He tiptoed over to Lucy who never made it far from the door. She was passed out on her side just a foot away from the door. Natsu knelt down and scooped the girl into his arms. He couldn't help but smile at her small huffs she made as she snoozed in his arms. Her face looked so calm and composed even as her lips quivered in the most adorable way. He walked her over to the only empty bed in the room and gently placed her from the pillow to the foot of the bed. Everyone else was spread across the room like they had been shit face drunk the previous night. After looking at the others in their ridiculous positions he turned his focus back to Lucy. He just wanted to watch her sleep for the next few minutes. He didn't know why he enjoyed it so much, but he did it almost every time he slept over at her house and woke up before her. He leaned down , caressed her cheek in his palm, and kissed her forehead . Lucy stirred slightly below him her face unconsciously flustered and a smile hinted by her lips. Her gesture made chuckle chuckle softly under his breath.

Gray started to rustle the pillows on the couch he chose to sleep on last night as he stretched out his arms and yawned into a pillow. Before he had a chance to look up Natsu had quickly tiptoed out of the room. Right after Gray had woken up the others followed pursuit. First, after Gray, Lisanna began to rub her eyes who was instantly followed by Elfman who stretched out all four limbs. After him a few seconds later Happy squeaked out a yawn. The three to wake last were, as follows, Lucy who woke up with an out of the ordinary burst of energy as she jumped straight up, Wendy who stretched out her small arms and yawned just like a small kitten, and Jellal who was groggy with a minor headache continuing from the night before.

Natsu burst through the door with his normal attitude. He had a turkey leg stuffed between his canine like teeth, salmon in his left hand, and mackerel in his right hand. Without a word Happy flew over to the dragon slayer and landed on top of his head. Natsu tossed a fish over his head and Happy grabbed it excitedly and ate a few big chunks of it at a time.

"_We were all pretty tuckered out from yesterday's events", _Gray winced.

_"Let's just get straight to it. We don't have much time to sit down", _ Elfman groaned.

"_I heard someone mention Zeref. What does he have to do with anything", _Jellal asked in a declamatory tone.

Everyone stood silent with their heads tilted toward the ground, any happiness still left in the room had vanished at that point. Lisanna lifted her head after the silent became to much. "_I forgot he was knocked out when it all happened. Someone should explain it to him. Lucy and I can head down to the lobby and grab some food", _ She shyly said as she looked over to Lucy in a questioning manner. Lucy had managed to let out a faint smile and nodded in agreement. After the two left the room everyone else lifted their heads.

"_It all started with Erza Knightwalker", _Wendy shuttered.

"_Jellal, we think we know part of the reason Knightwalker was sent here but we are not positive", _ Natsu started.

Jellal flipped over the bed landing his feet on the floor and his tush on the edge of the mattress so he could focus on the words coming out of Natsu's mouth.

"_We should wit for the others to get here first" _Elfman interrupted.

_"What do you mean", _ Jellal inquired.

"_What occurred last night could change the fate of reality", _ Makarov stated roundly. The third Fairy Tail master stood, arms crossed over his chest, in front of the opened hotel room's door. Warren from Fairy Tail stood directly behind him.

"_What are you two doing here", _ Natsu yelped at the old man known as Makarov.

"_Lisanna contacted me last night", _ Makarov spoke succinctly.

"_But how", _ Gray raised an eyebrow.

"_That is not important right now", _ Lisanna chimed in from behind Warren and the master. Lucy and Lisanna walked into the room past Warren and Makarov with a breakfast cart full of delicious treats.

"_I brought Warren with me today so he could use his telepathy to relay our conversation to the rest of the guild", _ The old man grinned.

Warren lifted his left index finger and middle finger together, side by side, up to his forehead and asked," _everyone listening"? _He heard all his guild mates check in and than added everyone else in the room to the telepathic conversation to hear all the others. "_Whenever all of you are ready",_ Warren gestured to the group.

Natsu cleared his throat. "_Well, to be frank I'll let you know upfront that Erza was taken by Zeref"._

Jellal drew his fists into the sheets below him and gritted his teeth together in frustration. The woman he cared for the most was taken by the hands of the person he despised more than anyone else.

"_Along with our Erza he took the Erza from Edolas as well. We still do not know exactly hos Knightwalker was sent here but we are pretty sure she is here by Zeref's demand. As soon as Jellal had Knightwalker expose her true identity Zeref was able to track her down. Zeref is no where similar to how he acted when he was back on Tenrou island seven years ago. Lucy and I had become worried since Erza had not yet returned from her stroll last night so we decided to go out looking for her. While we were out we saw a bright flash of light at the top of a set of stairs. After we reached the stairs and ran up them we saw Erza falling over the railing and Jellal jumping after her", _Natsu continued.

"_Kagura was about to jump over the railing as well but Natsu stepped in front of her. Kagura explained why she was after Jellal and fighting Erza but Natsu quickly explained how Jellal was being controlled before and the way that Kagura described how Erza was acting sounded completely unlike her", _ Lucy took over.

"_I was following Lucy and Natsu and when I had showed up it was just after Natsu had wrapped up his explanation to Kagura. At that point a mysterious figure appeared", _Happy chirped in.

"_He left no time for us to wrap our heads around the fact that he just appeared before he sent us all flying into the stone wall beside the railing with barely any effort. I guess he decided that he could clue us in on a few things which is how we knew some of the information we have already given you. He never outright told us he was Zeref, but from what he told us about himself and what he did on Tenrou island it was safe for us to conclude that he was in fact Zeref. Natsu sent Happy back to the hotel to grab Wendy since he knew we would most likely have injuries. After that Natsu got up and sprinted towards him but his magic energy seemed to be drained the closer he got to Zeref", _ Lucy said as anger sparked in her eyes and voice.

"_before I had a chance to do anything he grabbed Knightwalker and followed ERza and Jellal over the railing. After a minute or two he came back up with Erza dangled over his shoulder. By the time I realized what was going on and got back up on my feet he had already vanished and for some reason I could not catch his scent. Nothing was out of the ordinary in the air either. After that Happy returned with Wendy and Carla. That's the short version of last nights events at least", _Natsu said with a tone full of grudge.

"_We need everyone to help out. We can not draw to much attention to ourselves either. We need people to go after Zeref directly, send out another team close by for support and a second attack team. Some others will have to work together to gather information such as Knightwalker's appearance and any history that might be relevant to Zerefs return. We still need most of our team in the stands and five to represent us in the Grand Magic Games tomorrow. Lastly, a few of us will have to stay back at the guild hall to protect it in case anyone decides to send trouble our way", _Makarov spoke in a dead tone.

"_I just fought Rogue and Sting so if I sat out they wouldn't suspect a thing", _Natsu insisted.

"_Since Natsu casued such a fuss by sending me down some unknown mine shaft to who knows where during the fight today it would be understandable if I did not show", _Gajeel added.

"_We can not have to many people switch off the team, and with Erza already needing to be replaced, one more was far enough. After the fifth day is over you can do your part. Mirajane and Elfman can fill in for Natsu and Erza. The people I definitely want in a certain group are Wendy and Laxus as backup. Cana, Levy, and Reedus will take part in research. I want Warren back at the guild hall and Jet in the stands. That way in case anything happens at the guild Warren can contact Jet and warn the others. Since Jet is fast he could run himslef and one more person back to the guild hall", _Makarov added.

Jellal peered intently at the master, hoping he put him in a spot where he could directly save Erza.

Just as Jellal hoped for, the master saw it in his eyes what he desired.

"_Lucy, Happy, Natsu and Gajeel, when he is done with the games, and Jellal will be our direct hit team. Others can help the research team or choose to stay in the stands or back at the guild with the others. A few, if I permit, can join Laxus and Wendy", _the master concluded and with those words he left the room.

Everyone stood silently with no objections to the master's orders.

Natsu jumped on a table in the middle of the room and threw his fists in the air above him cheering, "_No one else but Fairy Tail"._

Everyone started laughing and loosening up and soon joined the ecstatic Natsu.

Jellal un-clenched his fists from the sheets and let out a small grin. He had to stay strong and positive, for Erza, and with that thought he joined the others in their chant.

They knew this journey would be hard but pouting along the way was not going to get them far.

_**Next chapter will get more into the fun! For some of you romantics reading this I hoped you enjoyed a little Natsu x Lucy. If there's something you might like to see you can throw it out in the comments and I might make a spin off of it. **_

_**Thanks to everyone again for keeping me motivated!**_


	4. Branch Off

_**Be warned. There will be graphic language (not curse words) in this chapter and the imagery might be to much for some so as I said, you have been warned. M Rating during this chapter. Also and FYI, this story does not follow the FT storyline so (SPOILER) the dragons were never a threat.**_

_**I do not own Fairy Tail. **_

The groups had been finalized later on in the day. The list included the research team: Cana, Levy, Nab, Max, and Reedus, the direct team: Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Jellal, and later on after the games Gajeel will be joining the group, the backup, or secondary team: Laxus, Wendy, Carla, Freed, and Wakaba. Everyone else would choose to stay back at the guild hall and defend it or stay up in the stands cheering on their team, and the last five members who would be participating in the games.

The Research Team

Since no one knew where to start until some intel was given to them the research team was the first to depart. They had made it all the way to the outskirts bordering the city's capital before Levy halted abruptly leaving some of the members to knock into the back off her.

"_What was that all about_", Cana grunted while rubbing her shoulder that hit the back of Levy first.

"_There are two things that we have been assigned to dig up information on and since this is a time sensitive assignment I think it would be best to split up into two groups", _Levy breathed out.

"_What about the possibility of running into some trouble? If we split up than we will have less forces on our side", _Nab spoke worriedly.

"_I agree with Levy. This is for the sake of our comrade. We must keep our spirits up and do whatever we can to hurry this up. The longer we take to figure things out the longer we delay Natsu and the others from doing their part", _Max stepped in.

"_Since Levy's magic is good with books and words she should lead the group to find out about what Zeref might be up to. Hopefully my fortune magic can help lead us to the whereabouts of who might have brought Knightwalker here or at least guide us to someone who has an idea. Reedus can come with me since he can draw up things and bring them to life or reality so if we need something he can help. Max will go with Levy in case someone tries to ambush Levy while she is looking up the information. He can keep them back so she is not interrupted. Nab, since my group might be more likely to run into trouble your magic could help out in a sticky situation", _Cana instructed.

No one disagreed with her. Before they set off for who knows where Cana distributed S.O.S cards to the members in case an emergency arose and then used her cards to guide each group in a general direction.

...

A rumble echoed through the room as plaster fell to the floor in small chunks. A dent four inches deep was paved into the wall.

"_Gramps won't be to pleased to know he will have to pay some more because of your wreckless behavior", _Lucy nagged Natsu.

"_Do something to stop him Jellal"_, Happy whined.

"_There's nothing I can do to stop him and besides, I feel like doing just as much as he is", _Jellal sighed out in an attempt to calm his nerves. His fingers curled up into a fist in his right hand during a thought to punch the wall just as Natsu did but restrained himself.

Natsu was going crazy from being trapped in the confinements of their hotel room. It had been two days since Levy and the others left and they had not heard a word since from anyone about the situation and until someone came up with some information the group was to stay put in the room until told otherwise.

On the other side of the wall the group could hear frantic, disorganized footsteps approaching. Soon the door burst open with no warning with Wendy and Jet panting behind it, The people who were creating the other vibrating footsteps passed by in a hurry. The two stood there with their hands resting on their kneecaps as they tried to catch their breath.

"_Wendy..."_, Lucy stood up, worried for the girl.

"_Jet, What is going on", _Happy asked in a low tone.

Wendy pushed her head up to look at the group and cried out, "_ It's bad!"_

Research Team: Zeref

"_It's weird. I thought we would be looking in the ancient magic library but Cana's cards pointed us in a completely different direction",_ Max questioned no one specifically.

"_I don't doubt Cana's ability but I still think we should look there. At the rate were going I think our destination will be the middle of no where", _Levy pointed out.

Levy and Max were four hours out in their journey with only a field of flowers in view. Cana's cards had guided them to a location far from any city they knew of;however, in front of them grew an ominous sense at an alarming rate. Flowers began to wilt and sound and agony rang through the air.

"_This would not happen all of a sudden for no reason"_, Max covered his ears from the ringing of cries.

"_I guess her cards were leading us the right way, but I still don't see anything", _Levy moaned.

Then, from the corner of her eye she saw a faint blue light glowing in what use to be the sunlight. Since the feeling of darkness had engulfed the area the sunlight vanished without a trace. Levy dashed towards the light as Max's shouts behind her fainted. She stopped with a large amount of force as she was taken back from what was bestowed to her presence. A young child beaten from head to toe, blood gushing from her neck and fingers chopped off or bent backwards as they were cracked. This image stood in front of her as a faint memory from another. She had never seen this child before or known of such pain brought on to another. This girl, was a memory, and nothing more. She would not speak, in fact she could not speak. Her mouth seemed sewed shut with delicate precision. Her stare was traumatizing. It peered straight through Levy as she quivered in disgust. What was going on? What did this have to do with anything? These questions ran through Levy's head faster than she could even comprehend them. The ghost-like girl lifted her arm slowly and when it paired parallel to the ground she force her only finger intact to shoot forward in the direction where the darkness was strongest. Levy gulped and knew what she had to do but was no where near happy about it. She slowly marched forward, dragging each leg forward after the other. Max was no where in sight, but she continued to trudge forward until her breath was taken away.

...

Max had lost sight of Levy and even after he trailed after her he could not seem to catch up. The air around him became thicker and a fog spread around his feet and obscured his vision from anything farther than 200 feet from his position. He could feel a chill run up his spin and shake his body uncontrollably in fear. He spun around on his heel just to find nothing behind him but as he returned to his original view he was scared back as he fell on his back, knocking the breath out of him. An old man with long, thin white hair came out of nowhere and stood in front of him. His neck was cracked all the way except for an inch through as it fell on his shoulder. A large break in his forehead glistened with blood as black as night with no moon or stars to light it up. His arm bent behind his back and over his shoulder the opposite of his head with only nubs and no fingers. A knife was still latched in his hand while another went clear through his kneecap but never teeth were cracked, lips busted, and his feet were surrounded in blood. Yet, through all of the torture he seemed to have endured he still smiled, a wicked smile. The sound of his arm bent around him cracked as he unraveled it from around his body. He spread both arms out, dropping the knife, and left them spread out widely as if to indicate something all around him. Max followed the gesture and turned his head to look. He choked on his breath. Eyes wide open, jaw dropped as he felt he could could almost die from lack of oxygen from the view taking it away from him. He just couldn't believe it.

The Research Team: Knightwalker

_"How come we have never heard of this person before_", Nab blabbered.

"_Well since this is the person who can most likely help us figure out what we need to, considering how far fetched this situation may sound to anyone we tell, may indictae why we've never heard of them", _Cana grunted.

"_I see where you're coming from", _Reedus agreed.

"_We should be there soon", _Cana let our a grin from relief.

They had been walking for well over 4 hours now with no break and all of them were exhausted from to long walk. Cana figured the person they were looking for would be hidden in the middle of a swamp. She figured this person wanted to be evaded by anyone and everyone possible. Her question was only, why? Reedus had drawn up a sharp sword to cut away at all the hanging vines that stood as obstacles between them and their target. From Cana's calculations she figured the person would be centered directly in the middle of the swamp which they would be coming close to soon. How she knew this information? Even she did not know the answer to her own question.

SPLASH!

Cana looked to her side in a flinch to see Nab had tripped over and landed head first in the muddy water. Cana picked up the pebble that he had tripped over and smirked.

"_That stupid rock. It made me trip", _Nab complained.

"_This? This is a pathetic excuse for a pebble let alone a full blown rock and last time I checked an inanimate object never could move", _Cana laughed.

Nab only stared angrily at the laughing female in front of him. Reedus drew up a rope and threw it over to Nab to grab on to. After Nab was hoisted up he caught Cana dazed as she stared past a thick clutter of vines. The three pushed their way through and on the other side was a quaint cottage on a small island.

"_We finally made it"_, Nab exclaimed.

HaHaHa

A conspicuous laugh echoed through the swamp. The three Fairy Tail wizards stood back to back creating a tight triangle with their bodies in a fighting stance. Three bodies emerged from the shadows and silence fell over them. The old woman they were searching for was there in front of them. So close, yet so far away. She was lodged between the arms of him and beside him was another. Their menacing grins shined with despair.

"_We've been waiting"_, he spoke.

_**Well most of the gory imagery will be the next chapter. This chapter is to make up for the last chapter. Hope everyone enjoys!**_


	5. The Other Side

_**It's been awhile since I've updated I know. I'm sorry. A lot going on, know you don't care so lets move on. :)**_

_**Do not own Fairy Tail**_

Her body stirred in the cold air around her. Shivers crept down her spine in a timely rhythm. Her lips tried to mutter out a sound but quivered instead and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Erza was sitting out in the park on a beautiful, sunny day when the birds sang, squirrels danced, fish flew, and children laughed. It was perfect. Down the path in front of her a blue haired gentleman walked down her way. A box of chocolates in one hand and a dozen red roses in the other. Their shade of color matched perfectly to that of her own hair. She sat the book she had been reading down beside her on the bench and positioned herself to be sitting upright and ladylike. One leg crossed over the other and her hands rested in her lap as she smiled up.

The man froze, fear stroke his eyes. Down tumbled the roses and the box of chocolates busted open against the cement of the path. A group of cross-bred spider and snakes with scorpion tails crawled feverishly out of the box dripping with melted chocolate and cherries. They screeched like a bat was about to recieve it's last dying breath and crawled at the speed of a cheetah. She jumped up on the bench as her body turned cold and white and yelled repeatedively to requip with no luck. The roses beside the man had wilted within seconds and their vines wrapped around the legs of the sir which continued all the way up to his neck, restraining him from any movement. A dark figured lurked behind him and swallowed up the air with posion. Erza could feel herself clawing at her neck, demanding it to breath. The vines scorched through the young man's skin searing down to his very bones. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, turning them black and was released from the grip of the vine's he was entangled in. His lifeless body plummeted to the ground and the cross-breds screeched in victory. Her body fell limp and crashed to the bench. In her last few seconds of having vision she saw pole rise up from the ground with people nailed to them, familiar faces. The purple outfits shined out through the mist and salmon-colored spikes made every thing clear. Her guild mates, her friends, her comrades were hanging to a thick branch of wood only by nails hammered through their bodies. Blood streamed down their bodies, mouths flowing with it and parts of each one's body was busted in on some place or another. All Erza could do was allow herself to cry in anguish as the cross-breds piled on top of her.

She pushed her body forward as she was covered in a cold sweat and continued to have crying spells. Once she rubbed all her tears away from her eyes she noticed she was someplace she had never been before. The bed she was laying on was made of steel bars freezing to her skins touch. The floor and walls were built out of cold, grey stones with no carpet or anything warm overlaying. Only one window turned up in her tiny little cell, or at least that's what she thought the room was, at the top of the wall near a corner. Nothing else stuck out. No lights, drawers, or even paper. She bent over the bed railings and placed her feet on the ground just to quickly raise them back up. It was at that point that she realized she had nothing to cover her feet, but that was not the only thing. Her legs were mostly barren of any cloth except for a pair of silk shorts that cut of halfway down her thighs. The same thought arose as her arms had no sleeves but straps and her bellybutton was showing. She covered her body with her arms by instinct even though not another soul was there.

She had to figure out what was going on and where she was. Her best option was to find a way up to the window so she could peek through to the other side, but how? She hastened to her feet and dragged the steel frame over to the corner. This gave her somewhat of a boost but still not enough to reach the window. She looked for any deviations in the wall's surface. She was lucky to find one stone sticking out farther than the others just a short height above the bed that she could step on and another that caved in closer to the window. As she climbed up up the wall she grabbed a hold tightly to a bar on the window like a jail cell's window, just furthering her thoughts that this was indeed a cell. Her other hand latched on to another bar at that point and she was able to hoist herself up enough to see; however, the results were not pleasing but in fact the very opposite.

She was pulled by the ends of her hair down and she crashed head first into the edge of the outer bars holding the bed together. She had lost all consciousness from the event.

...

Time seemed to travel by so fast while she was unconscious. When she awoke she was chained to a couch she was sitting on in a bigger room. This couch at least had a warmer cushion on it so she was not freezing as much.

A hand grazed against her arm and she pushed herself back against the opposite arm of the couch scared by another's presence. She released the tension in her muscles as her eyes laid upon Knightwalker who was also chained up to the couch beside her.

"_It feels good to see a familiar face", _Erza grinned.

"_The feeling is mutual. I just hate being a prisoner in some place located who knows where:, _Knightwalker half smiled back at Erza.

"_Well, actually I think I have some idea of our location",_ Erza's grin turned to a frown.

"_I saw through a window in my cell the outside. The sky was pitch black and the ground below this building had lava circling below it. The building stretched pretty far from what I could see with some segments raised higher with sharpened points at the roof. It seems like this may be a castle", _Erza continued since Knightwalker never spoke up.

The door across the room from their position creaked open and inch and than all the lights blacked out in the room. A small light exploded it's beam out from the ceiling down to the floor in front of the door which had apparently opened the whole way after the lights blacked out. A girl sat on her legs bound by a rope at her feet, legs, and arms. Her head was tilted downwards and cast a shadow on the ground in front of her. A figure appeared beside her from the shadows, the same figure that had swooped in with her confrontation with Kagara. His cloak still engulfed his appearance. He lifted his head just enough to show an evil grin that appeared on his face with razor sharp teeth like a chainsaw. He stretched his arm out from under his cloak and reached down to tilt the girl's head up to expose her face. Black tears ran down her face from her mascara and her lips were stitched together. Blood dripped from the stitches from the strain she put on them from trying to open her mouth.

"_If you comply, this won't have to happen to you as well",_ he chuckled.


	6. What a Rush

_**I do not own Fairy Tail :)**_

_**enjoy! **_

Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gajeel, Jet, Carla, and Wendy, who was in Carla's arms while flying, rushed out the front door of the hotel and were immediately greeted by faces of despair and anger. The sky fit the mood perfectly from the overcast and roaring thunder. The master was between all of those in the small crowd that had gathered. It was more than just the guild mates this time, members or Sabertooth, Mermaid heel, and Lamia scale had also come to assist the guild. Master Makarov was ffirst to speak.

"_Natsu", _his voice cracked.

"_What's going on gramps", _Natsu's voice grew with concern.

Makarov turned sideways and stepped back.

A person brushed pass the arms of Lisanna and Wakaba to stand beside Makarov, head bowed in disappointment and hands cupped together in front of her bellybutton, squeezing each other tightly and fiddling with her thumbs.

"_It's bad",_ Levy whimpered.

Tears feel from the area shadowed below her head created from facing the opposite direction of the sun. She pushed her tears aside as they slid from her eyes, continuously bring her fisted hands back up to her cheeks and wiping them away one after the other.

Max made his way to beside her and patted her on the back.

"_I'm not a hundred percent clear on what she discovered, but I can tell you about mine",_ Max said kindly while concernly looking at levy.

"_I am not sure. I believe it may have been a prediction or a told fortune of tragedy. I don't want to say that it will turn out that way so maybe it was a warning. I saw what looked to be like an old man still living from his physical texture but when I truly saw his demeanor I knew it just could not be true. His head was not even fully attached to his neck let alone connected enough to allow him to still be standing. I never saw someone so brutally taken advantage of. The area around us was fogged like a dream and, if this was a warning or prediction, a crystal ball where the only clear image was the focused view of the future. He spread his arms out to indicate something was all around us I turned and saw every member of Fairy Tail beaten up as bad, if not worse, than the man. It looked so foreal. I felt so devastated that my heart could of been ripped out of my chest and the pain would not be able to knock me out of my state of mind.", _Max exclaimed.

"_We need to do something",_ Levy declared.

She stood up straight after Max had finished describing his experience, her face still red from harshly rubbing her face clean of tears.

"_I saw similar images after me and Max had lost each other. I ran into a girl badly beaten up but it was obvious she was not part of this world. She led me somewhere, a place surrounded by her fellow comrades. I know this only because I found her body among the others. Inside these old ruins, which turned out to be housing a temple, I found an ancient book which has information on zeref",_ Levy spoke.

"_What did it say", _Natsu rushed.

_"Calm yourself, let her finish", _Makarov snapped at Natsu.

"_I did not have time to read it at the temple. Soon after I had entered the place began to rumble. More and more after the last. After I found the book the ghastly girl hurried me to leave. Great concern was on her face and she motioned me to a secret exit with her hand motions. As I reached the door I turned back but she had vanished into thin air. Through the path on the other side of the door I reached outside again with no struggle or obstacles. It was there I ran into Max. After we met up again we did not hesitate to rush back here. That, however, is not our biggest concern_", Levy frowned even more.

"_What do you mean"_, Lucy asked.

"_Cana and the others are still gone and by the time we were close to reaching you all her S.O.S card rang. We ended up splitting up to get the information we needed faster to save time. Cana gave us all cards in case anything happened, and apparently something has",_ Max explained

_"Why didn't you say so", _Gajeel yelled furiously.

Levy began to cry again after hearing Gajeel's words ring through her ears.

"_No need to worry. Laxus, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed are headed to their way to help. Levy told them the location since Cana told them before the split up."_, Makarov calmly stated.

"_Levy wanted to go help them but we were so close and in the state we were in mentally after our encounters we were not ready to go to their aid. I figured some other members could go to their aid and serve them better than we could since we were so close to reaching the rest of you",_ Max added.

_"Were going to go as well. Even if Laxus and the others help them finish off the problem before we get there we can still get a head start on going somewhere to find Erza after talking to them. Warren can keep us posted after you figure out what is in that book", _Jellal decided.

"_Let's hurry than", _Natsu cheered excitedly from finally getting to do something.

_"You don't know where they are_", Max pointed out.

"_I can track them by smell just find",_ Natsu grinned and than ran off with Happy and and Lucy yelling after him to slow down.

Gajeel walked over to Levy, laid his arm over her head with his fingers rustled into her hair, leaned down, and whispered,"_I'm sorry, I did not mean to scare you. Thank you for your hard work", and walked by to follow Natsu with Wendy and Carla trailing behind him._

**The Research Team: Knightwalker**

They scrunched up together in close quarters back to back after hearing an ominous laugh from every direction of the swamp. In front of Cana two figures emerged from behind some trees and vines, and evil grin lurking on one's face.

"_Are you, perhaps, looking for someone",_ One figure questioned coldly.

"_Perhaps it is this person you are searching for", _ one spoke as he stepped forward with a body draped over his shoulder. He grabbed the person and threw them over his shoulder and slammed them hard on to the ground. The old lady let out a faint gasp for air.

"_That's her"_, Cana gritted as she spoke through her teeth so only Reedus and Nab could hear her.

"_Who are you and what do you want"_, Reedus spoke up, his voice shaky.

The two figures stepped forward, the first was the man who had been carrying the old lady on his shoulder. His black hair caressed his shoulders and draped down past his neck. His lips as dark as the midnight sky with no moon in the air to light up the world and no stars to illuminate the world. He had a white cloak hugging his body which had not been touched by dirt or grime in the swamp since he was floating on a cloud inches, maybe a foot, above the ground. The other stepped forward after him. He seemed shorter from the shadows but when he stepped into the light it was obvious he was slouched over some. His hair was back in a bun and he had a cloth cover his mouth and tied around his head. On the fabric was designed a mouth grinning with razor sharp teeth. The two who stood before them were none other than Midnight and Doriate.

Cana took no time for hesitation after revealing the figures and drew her cards out quickly. Reedus followed pursuit and whipped out his paintbrush and pad.

Cana fought hard throwing multiple attacks at once focused on Midnight to give him less of a chance to dodge yet it always seemed to fail. She was knocked down by multiple slashes by flying razors thrown at her. She managed to use a few cards to her advantage and shield her from some attacks. Water slowed down attacks while lightning obliterated weapons. The fight continued on, not to her best interest

Reedus dodged all attacks by Doriate and tried his hardest to stay out of his reach from the magic to deteriorate his magic powers. He managed to get a few attacks in but never really placed it right since he was always dodging. Dodging was his focus since he knew thins would be multiple time harder with very little magic. The ground was hard to maneuver around.

Nab stood back, looking like he was trying hard to think of something.

"_Could you try something",_ Cana breathed heavily.

Nab did not respond, but continued to stay in his pondering stance. The only thing was that it looked like he was straining while thinking.

Cana and Reedus' fight continued on to no avail. Reedus was finally caught by Doriate's magic and was turned back to a kid with much less magic. There was no point in him running anymore. He tested out his magic and when he drew a wild Lion only a kitten was brought up and only lasted for 10 seconds. Doraite was now focused on taking down Cana's magic before returning his attention to Reedus. Reedus kept running to grab Doriate's attention to help Cana from getting even more trouble.

Cana gathered a great idea and used her fairy magic, no questions were asked how she got it back, and used it to, if not destroy, locate Midnight. Her idea surprisingly worked and while she knew his location before he could move she used a special combination of cards. She threw out four cards. A wave of water splashed towards Midnight as electricity stretched through the waves while a heavy fog swallowed the air around them and a strange, unknown source sprinted through the air towards him. He laughed as he managed to dodge all the attacks but Cana never flinched, or looked away. After all the source of her magic had cleared up Midnight lay unconscious on the ground as a mimic of Gildarts stood in front of him for a few more seconds and than vanished.

"_What just happened",_ Reedus ran to her breathlessly.

"_I used the vast area of dangerous water with electricity to move him while I used another card as a hallucination to act as two while the last card I sent out was Gildarts. If he counted the cards than the one that acted as two would satisfy his observations that four were used, not three so he wouldn't notice one was hiding, the one that was Gildarts. Gildarts was placed in the one area that would not be touched by the water which was the only spot Midnight could jump to unharmed", _Cana explained proudly.

Reedus smiled but had no time to act impressed. Doriate was closing in on him and before anyone could do anything Cana was reduced to the same state as Reedus' condition.

Cana and Reedus were cornered by a group of trees and a closing of vines. Doriate slowly crept closer to them in his demon form, since Max had aggravated him, and raised his arms and opened up his hands to grab them. As he took one more step forward a hold appeared below his foot and he lost his stepping. He fell face forward right in front of the two mages. They seemed so confused and looked back at Nab when the noticed no one new had appeared. Nab was no longer in his original position and could not be found. A few rocks flew around Doriate and began ferociously knocking in to him, especially at his head and legs to knock him out or disable him. It was easier to do since he had lost his balance and could not get up easily. Soon enough, he was passed out and returned to his original form. Cana and Reedus grew back to original size and tested out their magic to conclude that, yes, their magic was back.

Nab appeared again but the two were not quite sure from where.

"_What just happened",_ Cana looked at Nab confused.

"_I am sorry I could not step in sooner. While you two were fighting I tried to summon spirits. By the time you had Midnight down and were facing Doriate I was close to getting them but I had to hide so he did not mess me up. Once I was hidden I finished the summoning and already had the plan you saw carried out. There was a piece of the swamps ground that was loose and partly disconnected from the rest, the part he stood on that tripped him. I made that disappear and had a few other spirits to take control of rocks and attack him at weak points", _Nab professionally said.

Reedus and Cana just stared at him with their jaws dropped.

"_Never thought you had powers",_ Freed appeared behind Laxus from across the ground with Bickslow and Evergreen behind him.

"_I just get lazy, using it takes to much out of me", _Nab yawned and stretched out one arm as he covered his mouth with the other hand.

Everyone just look dumbfound by his remark.

"_What are all of you doing here"_, Reedus asked the group.

"_Levy and Max showed us your S.O.S cards flashing. We were asked to come to help", _Evergreen explained.

"_I never did that", _Cana raised her brow.

"_I did. I just wanted to make sure things would be safe in case we didn't make it pass them or were down to our last strand of hope and magic", _Nab admitted.

A smile quirked up at the side of Cana's lips as she put her hands to her hips and leaned on one leg with the other bent out.

A burst of fire suddenly took down a section of the swamp's forest and Natsu emerged followed by an angry group of comrades.

"_And what about them", _Reedus pointed to their wild teammates.

"_No clue", _ Laxus nipped.

"_Well, where's your source", _Bickslow asked.

Nab, Reedus, and Cana jumped in surprise of forgetting the old lady and ran to her side.

"_This is her. She knows", _Cana smiled as the old lady began to stir.

"_Let's bring her in to her cottage to rest and we'll ask her when she wakes", _Reedus suggested.

Bickslow picked the woman up and carried her into the cottage followed by Nab, Jellal, and Reedus while Laxus began to argue with Natsu and soon Gajeel as Freed backed him up, Cana ran to Lucy and hugged her tightly, thanking her for coming, and Evergreen complained to Wendy about lll the fuse they were going through just for Erza.

_**Sorry for a long wait on a update. Halfway through this I had to write a lot of graduation announcements and send them and then towards the end I had to work and turn in two projects at once. Tomorrow I'll be dress shopping for graduation (super excited) so I wanted to finish it up today.**_


	7. Escape

**I do not own Fairy Tail**

Erza was deep in thought as she pushed the broom from side to side sweeping up all the dust on the hallway floor. Erza Scarlet and Nightwalker agreed to partake in chores around the castle until it was time. Time for what? Even without knowing the answer both the girls had agreed that it was nothing good and by at least agreeing to do chores they would have time to work something out before that time arrived. Erza was in charge of cooking and sweeping while Nightwalker was in charge of laundry and dusting.

Erza couldn't stop thinking about her friends back at the guild. She knew since her kidnapping that Natsu must have been going crazy like he does for any member of the guild, but she couldn't stop her mind from rushing to worry about Jellal's well-being. Even in her current position she still thought of him first. It wasn't like she never thought of others, especially before herself, but this time was different. Besides worry she had a glimmer of hope as her heart skipped a beat pounding roughly against her chest. The feeling made her grasp the pained area every now and then as it felt like her ribcage would soon be shattered to pieces as her heart flew through from a final push and break free of it's cage.

She couldn't continue her facade and tried desperately to focus on ridding the floor of all dust mites and stray fibers. She pushed herself harder and harder to distract her mind only to fail in all attempts and push herself even more. She finished sweeping in half of the normal time it took and decided to rush off the prep the materials for lunch.

She ended up preparing all that could be prepared before cooking well withing ten minutes and still had an hour to spare before she had to begin cooking. What was she to do now? Her efforts had failed her from drawing attention away from her feeble mind's thoughts. If she tried to rest or take a nap her mind would be in control so relaxing was scratched off her lists of possible activities while she waited. Maybe she would catch up with Knightwalker and help her with her chores.

As she walked down the corridor to Knightwalker's room she stopped abruptly right before a door to the entrance of a room with a light on and the door opened just an inch to reveal a shadow. After a few seconds of coming to her senses she realized a voice echoing from the room into the small hall. She could faintly understand the words being traded between the shadowed figure and another mysterious being. One had definitly been Zeref and that made her cringe, not in fear, but anger for the trouble her friends would be put through.

"_I have completed the next task", _Zeref shared.

"_Wonderful master, I promise to do good on my half the next time", _a male voice croaked out.

"_Mess up again and there will be no next time", _Zeref stated with no intensity nor lax in his voice, but knowing him and the actions he has done or shown her she knew his intentions of his threat would be lived up to.

Footsteps started to make the wood beneath their bodies creak. One of them, no, both Zeref and his guest were heading her way. She couldn't let them see her. She had not heard any significance to their conversation but non the less she would still be shown consequences for listening in. She wanted to find a hiding spot in which Zeref would not spot her but she could still get a chance to uncover the identity of his friend. His room and office are both in the direction she just came from and he would probably head back that way. After the conversation that just happened she doubted his friend would follow behind, so she crept to under a table covered by the wall on one side and an overlay covering the other three sides underneath. Without her armor she was well hidden and fit perfectly without any part of her sticking out from cover. Just as she had thought, it appeared the two had parted ways and the unidentified foe was about to pass her location. She quickly and quietly maneuvered her way around so she could get a look at the man as he passed.

Her breath was held still, trapped in her lungs as her eyes stay fixated on the guy. No, not the guy, but an acquaintance she once relied on.

The hallway was now quiet. All but deserted as Erza still sat under the table with her breath taken away.

A new pair of footsteps now echoed through the hall but stopped right before the table. A hand reached down for the hem of the fabric and slowly lifted it as the person crept down to their knees. Erza did not care anymore. She would act fast if she needed to but at the moment she just couldn't bear to move. Another hand reached over right as Erza was about to burst out from under the table and swing back, but the hand landed softly on her shoulder before she moved even an inch.

"_What are you doing in such a place", _Knightwalker asked.

Erza let out a deep sigh of relief and placed her own hand against her chest where her heart beat rapidly.

"_It's not wise to be hiding like that in this type of area. Zeref may find you suspicious", _Knightwalker continued.

"_He might as well be suspicious because I saw something which got me thinking",_ Erza breathed out with a small hint of irritation.

_"What are you talking about_", Knightwalker asked puzzled.

Erza roughly grabbed Knightwalker by her wrist and stared deeply into her eyes with a serious gaze.

"_We need to get out of here, soon",_ Erza spoke with emphasis around the word "soon".

Knightwalker felt distraught with how Erza was reacting but she knew she would not act this way if it was not important. She usually was calm minded and not one to over react, unless it came to luggage or acting and maybe even clothes.

Erza pulled Knightwalker with her in urgency towards her quarters , careful to stop before each corner and scout the halls for other bodies before proceeding.

Right before Erza opened the door to her room she froze in spot.

"_Erza, wh-", _Knightwalker was hushed quickly as Erza shuffled around and pushed her hand over her mouth.

_"listen", _Erza whispered the barely audible word.

Knightwalker did as she said and pushed her ear to the wall. On the other side she could here faint mumbling and what sounded like a sharp object barely being scraped against a wooden table or other wooden object. Her body grew tense and her mind's thoughts became urgent much like Erza had become when she ran into her. They had nothing to be worried about if they had all their belongings but something restrained their magic, and their weapons were taken and hidden somewhere not know to them. With how things were going they would have to move fast to find an escape route before word got out about their prolong absence. She remembered how Erza had told her about the lava surrounding their location and how it looked as if they were in a castle so it would be best to escape from lower levels and if they were in a castle their would most likely be an under-passage or dungeon or something they could travel through.

Knightwalker tapped on Erza's shoulder lightly and pointed to down the hall. The two females tiptoed to down and around the corner and stopped to talk.

"_If we can discover an underpass, which I'm certain they should have then we can travel at lower levels and escape on the ground without worry of the lava. I know they have to footing somewhere out there", _Knightwalker planned.

"_And what of our weapons", _Erza questioned.

"_Zeref must be planning something so we should definitely return with support after we reach your friends and that's when we can retrieve them", _Knightwalker answered.

The wood below their feet faintly began to shake little by little in a pattern.

"_Someone is moving close to us. we need to find a way down now, or at least keep moving",_ Erza rushed.

Knightwalker nodded and lead the way down another corridor.

After evading the detection of a few guards they passed by the kitchen and found stairs that led down to the floor below them. Now they knew they were making progress since it was concluded there was more than one floor and after seeing how high they were and estimating the length of the walls they figured there were at least ten floors below them and they were down to nine now. One thing they did not suspect is that as they made it down each floor the number of guards began to increase and by the fourth floor to the ground their builds began to look bulkier and they even saw training among some where their magical power matched even those of stronger comrades in the guild like Natsu and gray. On the third floor they had almost been discovered at least twice and felt like they were being chased which led them of course. As soon as they crept down to the second to last staircase radios starting going off. The girls found a small abandoned closet and closed the door so they could hear the radio transmissions. One guard came close to the closet and stopped. Erza began looking around quickly to find something she could use to fend herself against attackers but Knightwalker pointed back towards the door after noticing he was listening to his radio. Erza decided to push her ear against the door to hear better since she was closer.

An unknown voice came through with some static. It was fast paced and alert. He spoke so fast she could not quite catch most of what he said but a few words stuck out, words like "prisoners", "red", "escape", "perimeter", and "door".

Those words were enough for her to decide they had finally caught on to them and things were about to get a lot harder.

The guard put his radio away and began a fast pace in a direction opposite of the stairs.

After a few seconds passed she turned around towards Knightwalker.

"_Their searching for now. It might be best to move around while there is still some commotion while they get into places. i believe thy're mainly guarding the front door, or in general the last floor, and closer to the top floor where we were. I listened to the footsteps of the guard after he walked away and I think he was heading down to the first floor since it was the opposite direction of where we just came from so we'll follow his lead", _Erza discussed with Knightwalker.

Right before Erza opened the door for them to leave she paused for a second and turned around to Knightwalker one more time.

"_There may be a possibility of complications getting into the under-passage and if there is, depending on the situation we'll aim for the front doors", _Erza briefed her.

Quietly they opened the door and closed it so no one knew they were in there to start with and started off in the direction of the guard. After about five halls she did not know which way to turn next but Knightwalker caught a glimpse of a guard's body slowly moving to the ground and disappearing and figured it must have been the stairs. As the got closer they stopped and pushed around a corner when a few more guards began to linger around the stairs now.

"_Maybe there is a dumbwaiter on this floor we could get down there in", _Knightwalker suggested.

"_That or something else", _Erza agreed.

They head off in another direction they had not gone yet.

Around one corner the saw a dumbwaiter at the end of the hall along with two men standing guard.

"_We will have to create a distraction to lure them away and move fast because the dumbwaiter in the shaft may not be on this floor at the moment", _Erza said.

_"I have good strength that could move it down faster, or up, since I relied more on brute strength since magic was limited and now no longer exist in edolas. Which means you would create the distraction", _Knightwalker suggested.

Erza nodded in agreement and sat there pondering for a few seconds before coming up with the distraction. She disappeared for a few moments and came back with a lighter in hand.

Knightwalker looked bewildered but caught on quickly. She knew after the plan commenced it was all or nothing. Their location would be given off and the place would be in commotion as the halls filled with smoke. They just stared at each other for a few seconds and then nodded in agreement. Knightwalker got in a stance ready to move fast while Erza lit the lighter. From two different locations flames emerged from the floor and quickly spread down two opposing halls. The guards caught wind of the situation quickly and dispersed down different halls. As soon as Knightwalker lost sight of the men she scrambled down towards the shaft to open it and determine if the dumbwaiter was above or below. Erza stood to the back of Knightwalker keeping guard with the lighter in one hand and a hairspray bottle in the other. Hopefully Zeref ordered them to be captured alive and would approach them without using magic. Within thirty second the dumbwaiter was in front of them and luckily able to fit them both, even if it was tight. Right before the waiter was out of sight the girls caught a glimpse of guards in their sight. As Knightwalker pulled them down the shaft Erza spoke frantically.

"_We will not have time to find a way underground. At this rate we aim for the front door. Just move fast and stick together. Weave through them as much as possible and close to them so it is harder for them to track you. When we get close I don't want you to look back. With you or not I'll do what I can to make sure at least one of us escapes. If you do just run without hesitation. I'll be fine and he won't have me killed. Remember this location and how to find it and get help fast", _Erza ordered through one breath.

Before Knightwalker could reject her they were already at the first floor and Erza had jumped out. She had to follow closely and quickly so she did not give herself a chance to think.

Guards came rushing at them from three different halls and Erza charged through the group with the most men feeling like since it was heavier guarded than the door must be that way.

Erza came close to being hit by a scythe and a few swords towards the middle of the group while Knightwalker managed to bring two of the men down. At the end they could see a latch on a door wider and taller than the rest. Erza knew their numbers would soon get the best of them and she grabbed out two items she planned to use as a last resort but at this rate she deemed it dire since she's almost fallen to many times and Knightwalker had a few gashes now and fabric ripped. Without realizing anything at the moment Knightwalker managed to reach the door and run through it as she swung the doors apart but after a few feet she stopped and turned quickly with worry.

Why is she getting away easily?

Through the doorway she saw flames thrown in the air.

Erza had drawn all their attention and soon caught up in chains.

Knightwalker had a few tears begin to trail down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth and furrowed her brows. She clenched her hands into fists and quickly turned and began to run as fast as she could since she knew she could do nothing and that was what Erza told her to do. She would not let Erza's go out in vain.

After ten minutes of relentless running she stopped and figured she was out of sight and reach.

She stood there to catch her breath for a minute then turned around and decided to take in her surroundings before she ran out of energy and tried her best to find the closest town.

...

Dawn was upon her and she could barely make one step after the next. Tears began to fill her vision and she fell down to her knees. She remained silent with only her sobs filling the woods then punched at the ground. Once at first but then she threw another and more until her knuckles bled down to her fingertips and finally collapsed onto the ground. A few figures began to appear as her vision began to go black and at that point she felt all hope leave her body before she went unconscious.


	8. Reaching Her

**I do not own Fairy Tail**

Everyone gathered around a bed minus a few who sat back on couches and stayed around a table. They had cast their gazes downward focused primarily on an older elderly woman feverishly stirring. Some of the guild mates looked nervous. Bickslow wore a frown on his face and had his arms crossed over his chest and Nab looked like he was running on sweat at this point. Others, like Laxus and Mirajane, kept a serious look on their face the whole time.

Freed was outside keeping up a magical barrier around the cottage and afterwards would go into the swamp and cast a spell for any people coming towards them to get lost and find themselves back outside the swamp.

The elderly lady finally calmed down and began to open her eyes. A few faces looked relieved while others became more eager.

"_Oh thank goodness. We we-", _Lisanna spoke to the lady but was cut of she flared around kicking and punching.

Everyone stayed back but Gray, who held her arms behind her, and Natsu, who managed to get a hold of her feet and lay them flat on the mattress.

"_LET GO OF ME! MONSTERS! HOW DARE YOU ABDUCT A-", _the lady _screamed out abruptly but soon stopped after noticing something._

_"Oh hello dearies. I've been expecting you all", _She calmed explained.

_"but...you were just,", _Gajeel trailed off.

"_Oh I am terribly sorry for that. If you could please let me go now. I'll be able to properly explain", _The old lady asked with a smile.

Natsu and Gray just looked at each other for a few seconds but decided to let her go. If anything, they could easily just grab her again.

After being set free the woman sat and made her way to her small kitchen area to boil some water.

"_Would any of you young folk like some tea", _ she asked kindly.

A few accepted her offer and the woman grabbed a few more teabags.

"_We do not plan to stay long. I figured you would be able to help us because-", _ Cana was interrupted.

"_Oh yes I am quite aware of what you are searching for but don't be so rude. I'll introduce myself", _the woman put down the supplies she was handling and turned around with a big grin on her face.

"_My name is Lady Laura and I live alone here in this swamp to make medicines", _she introduced herself.

"_My apologies. My name is Cana Alberona and I am a member of Fairy Tail", _Cana introduced herself.

"_What is a Fairy Tail", Laura asks bewildered._

_All the members stare at each other with confusing looks and Lucy decides to walk up to Laura._

_"My name is Lucy Heartfilia and am also a member of Fairy Tail which is a very popular magical guild", _Lucy answers.

"_A magical guild? Oh I'm not in touch with the times anymore. Actually I never I think I was oh dear me", _Laura talks to herself while chuckling.

"_Oh but of course that is not important right now; however, I would love if you would come visit again after you have rescued your friends. I do get quite lonely all the time", _Laura rambled on.

Right as Cana was about to speak up again Lady Laura spoke up again," _Erza I believe her name is". _

Everyone froze after hearing her name.

_"There's another as well actually", _Elfman added.

"_Oh no, no, no. Just the one", _Laura tisked.

This just confused everyone even more.

"_Well that's where you are to start. She knows all you need to hear. Yes, Miss Knightwalker has been freed. Hmmmm, yes. It seems it happened quite recently. Ohhhh...", _Laura stops.

"_Wait! Knightwalker escaped? Where is she and what about Erza."_ Natsu rushed the lady.

Jellal stood in the background listening to the them converse back and forth. Last time he knew Erza and Knightwalker were on good terms, so why did only Knightwalker escape? Maybe that was the plan but I can not see Knightwalker allowing just herself to go. She is as stubborn and strong willed as Erza. they must have gone together, but that still does not answer why only Knightwalker walked free. After a few more minutes of thinking Jellal's eyes widened and he clenched his fists. Why did she have to act so heroic all the time.

"_The young lady can be found in the east towards Joya. She is being nursed by a very generous and caring couple and friends", _Laura finally gave them a general location to start with.

Makarov turned towards his mates to give them orders but Jellal was first to reach the master before he spoke and whispered the clues he got after hearing the information provided and how there may be some urgency.

Makarov scowled with his eyes pinched shut but managed to look at his "children".

"_We must move fast. Laxus, Wakaba, Gajeel, Natsu, Lucy, Jellal, Wendy, and Gray. I want you eight to travel there and find miss Knightwalker fast. There may be people searching for her. Warren, Freed, Nab, Lisanna, Elfman, and Mira. I want you six to stay here and get more information. Also, protect Lady Laura and report new findings to us. The rest of us will go back to the guild until we are needed and will come up with a game plan", _Makarov instructed quickly.

"_What if Natsu or another find something out? How will we know", _Lisanna asked.

"_Warren, can you keep us all linked", _Max questioned.

"_Yeah, just not when someone goes in a cave or an area blocking it", _Warren responded.

With that everyone agreed and eight left to the east while the others instructed to go back to the guild returned home.

**Towards Joya (8)**

They kept their pace quick keeping a watchful eye on those around them. They had just reached the border of Bosco next to Fiore by sundown and decided to stay at an inn for the night as they made plans.

Wakaba stayed at the counter talking to the innkeeper while Natsu and Gray stayed outside to bicker at each other and the others took the keys up to their rooms.

They had three rooms total. One for the girls: Wendy, Lucy, and Carla. The other two rooms consisted of the guys: Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Jellal in one and Gajeel, Pantherlily, Laxus, and Wakaba in the other. The guys rooms were across the hall from each other while the girl's room were down the hall parallel to theirs on the right.

The girls decided to talk in the bath since they had traveled a good distance in such a short time. Their feet were aching and their bodies were drenched in sweat. Laxus, Gajeel, and Pantherlily decided to go straight to bed and wake up early in the morning to take their baths then. By the time Wakaba arrived the others were fast asleep so he decided to take this time to take a bath in solitude. Natsu and Gray stayed outside til the sun sank away from view and even began their normal squabble until they grew tired and passed out on the grounds mounted on each other. Jellal was alone in the room with happy as he set up his bed in the room.

"_You seem pretty quiet, Jellal", _Happy spoke in a modulated tone.

Jellal could not get Erza off his mind. The tortures she must be enduring right now. He grew to hate himself even more as he thought of it and punched the mattress below him, leaving rumples in the sheets and even fraying some over the protective layer on the mattress. He did not want his actions to cause trouble for the inn so he tried to subdue it.

Happy began to become more worried about Jellal's state of mind and walked over to his side and hugged his leg.

This caught Jellal's attention and drew him away from his thoughts as he looked down at the blue cat.

"_We're all worried about her, but she is strong. She can handle herself. To be able to get Knightwalker away from Zeref must have taken a lot of thought. so if she can do that I know I can believe in her", _Happy indicated to try and cheer Jellal up while still feeling distraught himself.

Jellal reached down and patted the top of Happy's head with a smile. He knew he was trying to help. He was happy in general that Fairy Tail accepted him to accompany them to find Erza. After what he did they still accepted him. There was no way he could show them how happy this made him.

He knew Erza could handle herself but he could not accept not being able to be there for her. His heart ached when he thought about it, but there was no way in this situation that he could not think about it.

"_Natsu and Gray have been outside for awhile now and I can't hear them anymore", _Happy pitched in.

They both looked at each other and decided to head outside to bring the two knuckleheads back in.

When they first reached outside the two could not be spotted anywhere which made Happy and Jellal grow a little more anxious. They would split up and go around the inn and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious looking. It did not take long for Jellal's worry to dissipate and grow to some annoyance. Happy soon reached him and fell face first to the ground after finding the two cuddled up to each other snoring in the moonlight. Jellal through Natsu over his right shoulder and held Gray between his left arm and torso. After getting the two around him he and Happy traveled back to the inn where the inn just looked dumbfounded as they walked in and up the stairs. For their foolishness he decided to leave them on the floor for the night while he and Happy took over the beds.

...

Morning had arrived and the boys had finished taking their baths like planned. The group met in the lobby for a quick discussion before heading out.

"_We still do not know where in Joya Knightwalker is, who she is with, or how long she'll be there for", _Lucy said in a small voice.

Everyone thought this over for a second before Laxus spoke up.

"_For now we know the general area and most likely Erza told Knightwalker to look for us since she knows no one else so she should head our direction,"_ Laxus' voice resonated.

"_Unless those taking care of her insist they stay with them for awhile,"_ Happy rebutted.

"_In either case she won't be moving away from us, just heading towards us or staying put", _Laxus pointed out.

"_We just have to make it through Bosco and Stella before reaching Joya. If we stay on route by following the stream we should get there quickly. After we get there, if we do not get anymore information from Warren, then we can split up and search for them", _Jellal contributed.

No one else seemed to have anything else to add and decided that was their best option for the time being.

After they had concluded their talk they left the inn immediately so no time would be wasted.

They mostly encountered vulcan which were no trouble to defeat with their numbers. They ended up camping outdoors a total of three days while in Bosco and towards the border of Bosco and Stella they came across a hoard of vulcan numbering thirty in total. This fight left a few teammates exhausted and drained. They stayed planted to one spot for a whole day to allow them rest to recuperate. By day five they had finally made it into Stella still with no word from Warren. By this time they had just started to worry and contacted Warren. At first they had not responded but given a few minutes Mira's voice crackled in.

"_Sorry guys. We were searching for some information when we came across some trouble but nothing big. We were just helping rebuild some of the cottage. Freed and Warren are kinda beat right now since they ambushed Freed and Warren to get past the barrier without word spreading but Warren has managed to keep his energy up for communication", _Mira chirped in.

"_Who attacked you", _Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"_Oh no one important enough to worry about. We turned them in to authorities. They had no idea what we were doing anyway, they just thought we had some good supplies based on our barriers", _Mira calmed Natsu.

"_We got worried after five days of hearing nothing", _Gajeel said perplexed.

"_Oh don't be that way. We've been so busy looking we didn't find the time to just check in", _Mira reassured everyone.

"_Well try ever day or other to just check in from now on", _Wakaba told Mira favorably.

After hearing from Mira's group they continued on their journey thinking about the group. How could a small time group easily take down Freed's barriers or at least why would they go through all the trouble.

"_I think they were lying", _Gajeel spoke out of nowhere.

"_What are you talking about", _Lucy tilted her head questionably.

"_I agree", _Natsu nodded.

Lucy just looked even more questionably at the salmon haired mage.

"_They must be lying to the officials and are friends. Freed had a spell on the swamp so how would they even know are friends were there in the first place", _Gajeel offered his input.

"_Either Mira was lying to us, some one is a traitor among the group, or we've been watched for awhile now", _Jellal suggested.

"_It's very doubtful Mira would lie. Being watched seems more likely since we know all the people there besides Lady Laura unless it was her but Cana led us to her; however, Lady Laura did take her time giving us information and was still vague about Knightwalker's location, so I doubt she would go against us. Plus the fact that she already had the information", _Carla ignited question.

"_She did push for introduction among us though but she already knew Erza and Knightwalker's names and that we were looking for her so she should have known our names. In that case-", _Lucy froze after realizing her discovery.

She frantically turned her head up towards the group with a stern and serious look on her face.

"_This is bad, and most likely they don't know since we didn't know either", _Laxus caught on.

"_Clue us in on what you're talking about", _Wakaba chirped in.

Gajeel turned to face Wakaba, Wendy, and Gray.

"_Lady Laura knew one of us there was not part of the group. She didn't clue us in on everything so a spy couldn't give off Knightwalker's location to others probably closer to her", _Gajeel admitted.

"_She had Cana introduce herself to know at least one person was true to their identity", _Carla added.

_"Also, Warren and Freed were attacked which leaves them less as suspects, but they still could have faked it or been in on it,", _Natsu clued in.

"_Since they were attacked so easily I would say the spy is still in the group and I doubt Warren was it since he still has the same abilities and Freed still seemed to use his magic the same as always", _Gray contradicted part of Natsu's assumptions.

"_How do we figure out who it is though and how do we let them know", _Wakaba asked.

"_We can't let the spy know that we know yet or it will just complicate things farther. Mira may know since she was reluctant to talk much about it or maybe she wanted to throw us off the idea", _Happy thought out loud.

"_I'm still doubtful a comrade would betray us. Maybe someone is disguised as one of our friends or is controlling them", _Gray suggested.

"_We could talk to Warren and ask him to shut off communications with the others real quick to discuss it with him", _Natsu inclined.

"_But what if it is him", _Wakaba retorted.

"_We don't have much choice. They need to figure it out. Keep a watch out or find the person before more information is leaked", _Wendy pointed out.

Everyone seemed to think so as well as it was their best option.

"_Warren, are you there", _Laxus called out.

_"He's still not feeling to well", _Mira responded.

"_It happens to be dire and we can only talk to him right now", _Gray spoke roughly.

They can't give any hints to Mira right now and they need her to let this go and believe in them. If it is her she should.

A few seconds went by without a response.

"_I think I can manage five minutes tops", _Warren croaked.

Everyone was relieved to hear him speak and give them this time.

"_Can you cut connections with all the others for this conversation", _Lucy pleaded.

"_Got it handled. It's just you eight now", _Warren sighed out.

Wakaba explains briefly what they figured out to Warren in hopes he understood them.

"_That makes sense", _Warren agreed.

This statement shocked some of the members.

"_What", _Wendy spoke dumbfounded.

"_Mira talked to me about it shortly after your group left. She even tried to have talks with Lady Laura to see if she knew anything. She doesn't speak much of it though probably because she still has doubt among our group, so Mira is trying to get her to trust in her", _Warren explained.

"_We figured it was not you or Freed, but we don't know if the traitor is being controlled or is disguised as one of us", _Wendy included.

"_I agree, but I would include Mira out of your suspicions", _Warren spoke exasperated.

"_If Lady Laura could help us out it would be a great help, but for now we won't radio in and it would be best to look for anything out of the ordinary among the rest of the group", _Jellal suggested.

After their talk everyone felt a bit more relieved to know some of the others were already clued in. Most likely Warren and Mira were feeling a little better as well after hearing from them.

They decided to pick up their pace to find Knghtwalker even quicker now before anyone else could. There was even some question about who discovered her in the woods.

Their journey through Stella was much quicker since there was less distance to cover and they moved faster. After two in a half days passed the were finally in Joya. They could not really inform Warren of this though since only he would contact them. As soon as Knightwalker was found though they would since her well-being could be watched over and protected at that point.

"_We'll split into three groups to cover the east near the water, the west near the border of Minstrel, and the central area. Natsu and Happy will go east, Wendy and Carla will take the middle, and Gajeel and Pantherlily will scout the west", _Jellal directed.

There was no disagreement. With them being spllit apart they would be able to scout up above while others travel on foot.

"_Lucy and Gray will go with Natsu, Laxus and Wakaba with Wendy, and I'll go with Gajeel", _Jellal finished.

With his last words they all split up to cover their ground. Anyone carrying a lot of supplies or being cautious should be eyed.

Natsu barely made any progress as he let his attitude interfere. He thought everyone was suspicious so Happy had to be the eyes from the sky instead.

Pantherlily had practice paying attention to wary characters back in Edolas and Gajeel always watched carefully.

Wendy was a little inexperience and Carla was more focused on Wendy.

Lucy occasionally got distracted by passing magic shops while Gray tried to pull her away.

Laxus, Wakaba, and Jellal all stayed focused and diligent. Laxus would point a fella out and Wakaba would discreetly follow close to get a better look, but never came out lucky. Jellal had already turned down his seventh street when he saw a figure mostly covered from the corner of his eyes. He happened to be carrying two bags with him and traveling down dark alleys mostly. Jellal decided to tail him til he stopped by a house and knocked a certain way quietly. After another mysterious figure let him in and locked the door behind him Jellal decided to wait a few minutes then knock the same sequence as the man. After he knocked the doors slowly unlocked and the door swung open as Jellal was met not only by a sword but a familiar face as well.

Gajeel was signaled by Jellal that Knightwalker was found so Pantherlily dropped him off and went off to fetch the others as well.

They had all caught up together just a few feet from the house and followed Pantherlily who abruptly stopped then ran into the house.

One after another they gathered by the door just to stop as well with their eyes wide from shock and frozen in place.


	9. Helping Hand

**I do not own Fairy Tail**

Standing by the open door of the house their eyes met those belonging to Lucy Ashley and behind her Natsu Dragion. After spotting Pantherlily they found him clung to the bandaged covered leg of Mystogan. Jellal and Gajeel were still fixed in their spots dead center of the house.

"_What are all of you doing here", _Lucy Ashley growled with the look of anger plastered across her face.

"_Don't get feisty with us, aren't you suppose to be back in Edolas", _Lucy growled back.

"_Well duh, but because of your stupid world we were kind of forced into the situation", _Ashley snapped.

"_We're here for YOUR dear friend who was here unannounced", _Lucy puffed her chest out as she crossed her arms below her breast.

"_Calm down you two, let's give each other the chance to explain", _Laxus was able to pitch in.

Natsu lead Lucy to a couch while Ashley dragged her Natsu to the couch across from them.

"_This may actually be able to benefit us", _Gajeel snapped out of his daze.

"_What do you mean", _Mystogan asked with his voice muffled by the cloth hiding part of his face.

Snapping out of his own daze, Jellal answered, "_We happen to have a situation that originally included us saving Knightwalker as well."_

His statement seemed to worry Mystogan and Dragion while Ashley was still to furious to realize.

"_You know what happened to her", _Dragion exclaimed.

Mystogan focused on their visitors at this point now.

"_Jellal, Gajeel, we'll talk upstairs. I need someone to watch over Erza though",_ Mystogan pleaded.

Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Wakaba all silently went over to Knightwalker's side to watch over her as requested. She seemed to have a fever and sweats. They found it best to get some cold water and a blanket to cool her body while also forcing her to sweat away the sickness.

Jellal and Gajeel followed Mystogan up the stairs to a hall with five rooms.

"_We're sharing the place with a nice elderly couple who use to have a lot of children", _Mystogan explained.

"_Oh, they must be the couple that found Knightwalker in the woods", _Gajeel stated.

"_No, what makes you say that", _Mystogan questions.

"_Well, we came across a lady who seems to know quite a lot and led us here. She said that Knightwalker was found by a couple in the woods and was being nursed back to health by them and some friends", _Jellal responded.

Mystogan could not help let out a small laugh as he smiled and turned his face so they could not see him.

"_What's so funny", _Jellal asked.

While still turned around Mystogan answered, "_It was Lucy and Natsu who discovered her."_

_Jellal just stared at him while Gajeel began to laugh himself._

_"I'm so gonna take advantage of this now", _Gajeel chuckled.

With his words a gleam of light sparked mischievously in his eyes.

"_That aside let's go in my room", _Mystogan guided them to the last door on the left.

After arriving in their room, Mystogan sat on his bed as he removed the cloth covering his mouth while Gajeel sat at either end of a couch against the wall opposite the door.

"_Can you first explain why, or how you and the others got here? It may be able to help us understand the situation a little better since Knightwalker did not know how she got here when we first ran across her", _Jellal asked.

"_Originally, Knightwalker went missing right after a few of the guards did", _Mystogan stated.

"_Wait, She did tell us that the last day she remembered back in Edolas was that all of her guards weren't watching her", _Jellal jumped in.

Mystogan's face became puzzled as he said this.

"_A strange aura began to fill the air in the capital one day and never went away. I sent a few soldiers out to look for the source of it, but they never came back. At one point I sent more out to look for the missing soldiers. I made sure to tell them to not let Erza go unguarded. When I was doing check ups I noticed that no one was in her area, including her. I got upset and thought she had ran so I sent soldiers after her. They never found her though and only one returned back to the capital. He was out of breath and worried. I tried to get information out of him, but he ended up collapsing in front of me and going into a coma. I figured that I should just go myself to find her and during my journey I came across a strange black cloud hovering alone in the forest. I was weary to go near it; however, at the same time I ran into a few Fairy Tail members as well. They explained that Levy's machine caught wind of something bad in the world and lead them to that location, after I explained myself", _Mystogan reasoned.

Gajeel and and Jellal just stared intently at Mystogan without a single flinch as he spoke. After hearing about the black hole and the weird aura Jellal thought it might be the same cause to the aura he sensed back at the games. If the time matched than that could be a connection.

"_They said that it was there for awhile and was the cause of the air's foul aura. All they could tell me about it otherwise was that it meant no good", _Mystogan continued.

Jellal stopped him there to interrupt, "_Do you know roughly when it appeared, or at least when the air changed?" _

Mystogan sat there for a few seconds to think over and then came to a conclusion, "_We have been here for about a week in a half and we just found Knightwalker about a week ago. Why?"_

_"That's about the same time I realized it as well. It must not have been as strong here as it was there so not many people noticed. I know Ultear and Meredy did not notice", _Jellal concluded.

"_So maybe it was an entrance to your world somehow", _Mystogan added.

"_But who created it and what is the purpose behind it", _Gajeel questioned.

"_Was", _Mystogan spoke out.

"_What do you mean, 'was'", _jellal asked.

"_It disappeared after me and the others got sucked in", _Mystogan answered.

This just made Gajeel and Jellal even more curious.

"_It just sucked you in", _Gajeel pointed out in question.

"_Not right away, but for some odd reason a whirlwind of air started to gather around us. We seemed to be being pulled towards it as it shrank and after being sucked in, the light from our world began to grow thinner until it was dark, but then I became unconscious and awoke with the others in the middle of no where just surrounded by trees and the sun", _Mystogan finished.

"_Is it just you four", _Jellal asked.

"_No, there is also two others. Gajeel and Juvia", _Mystogan spoke lower in tone.

"_Your Gajeel is not even in Fairy Tail", _Gajeel groaned with a smirk.

"_He's always near an interesting story though, and Juvia happened to run after Lucy and Natsu to give them a heads up, but it was to late and now she has forgotten it", _Mystogan said softly.

"_That information may have been important, we may need her to try and remember, but for now we have to get Knightwalker feeling better", _Jellal roughly spoke.

After Mystogan explained his situation with the others Jellal and Gajeel explained their troubles and their current situation with the traitor back in the swamp. At the end of the discussion the three made their way downstairs to let them know their on the same page and should help each other out. For now they would stay with them and help Knightwalker until She awoke and they heard back from Warren.

A few days had passed since their meet and nothing had changed. Knightwalker was still in the same physical state and no word has come from the others until one cloudy evening.

Some static began to arise in the air for those from Earthland until a croaky voice emerged.

"_Everyone okay", _Freed called out breathlessly.

"_Yeah, why? What happened", _Wendy became frantic.

"_We found the traitor kind of", _Freed exhaled.

"_What do you mean kind of and why are you out of breath", _Wakaba sounded worried.

**Back at the swamp**

Everyone had just departed for the guild or Joya so it was just six of them left. Lady Laura seemed to have no problem with their stay and decided to put a few to work. She knew she would have to get close to one of them to talk freely. They were in a tight situation and she knew others would be coming soon, but she could not see exactly how and she did not know who to tell this to, so she decided she would have to trust they could handle the situation when it arose.

One young lady did tend to stick close by the second day. It could be bad news though. Trying to get her to talk to get information would not do.

One early afternoon while out in her man made garden collecting herbs a you girl named Lisanna ran to her side.

"_Miss Laura, We can't seem to find Freed and Warren, They were suppose to be back thirty minutes ago", _Lisanna cried out.

She knew it would be happening soon and she hoped it would bring the odd one out to light of the situation, but she only counted one, not two.

"_Where were they suppose to be", _Laura asked.

"_Freed was doing his daily round to check for anyone mysterious and Warren accompanied him in case they ran into trouble", _Lisanna worried.

"_Do the others know", _Laura asked.

"_Not yet, I wanted to come straight to you first", _she frantically responded.

"_I see, well two of you are down which leaves us with four. Whoever it is found Freed and Warren and brought them down so they must be heading our way. Have Ms. Mira stay back here as well as yourself and have Elfman and Nab go get the young men", _Laura instructed.

Lisanna just nodded and rushed off to the others.

Laura decided now was the time to observe the others closely. As she reached for the back door of her cottage she was sent flying backwards from an explosion and almost knocked her out if it weren't for dear Lisanna who had rushed to catch her. In front of her eyes appeared Mirajane and two unknown figures.

"_Who are they", _Laura tried to sound surprised.

"_In all honesty we've never come across these two before and they don't speak much", _Lisanna cooed.

"_Where are the others", _Mira yelled towards the two strangers.

They had no reply and just dashed forward.

Mira was able to dodge their attacks with no sweat and tried again and again for them to spill what they knew.

"_How did you know about Freed's barriers. What about our location. Who do you work with", _Mira pushed them for answers.

She found no need to go into her demon form to deal with them. They may have seemed smart getting through the barriers, but they showed no strength behind their attacks.

"_Lisanna, take the blond", _Mira ordered.

He seemed to be shorter and even weaker than the brunette who stood beside him to the right who was taller and had a mischievous look on his face.

Lisanna used her takeover magic: cat to use her claws against the perpetrator. She managed to take him down while barely making and destructive blows. Mira, on the other hand knocked a whole wall down during her battle and even broke a few pots until her opponent fell. They didn't seem to be like much of a match, but the brown haired man was the one who caused most of the damage. At some point Laura noticed that he was not even aiming for her, but the cottage. His goal was not to knock them down. The blond seemed like just a distraction as well. Maybe they were searching the place or trying to cause us trouble and delay us.

After calling the custody force to pick the men up Elfman returned while carrying Freed over one shoulder and Warren over the other. Nab was also beside him quietly following. The Nab fellow was actually pretty quiet Lady Laura thought. She would have to trust someone soon. She felt trouble coming soon, not just for the swamp or the cottage, but much broader.

Mira seemed to take good care of her fallen friends and seemed really close with her sister, Lisanna, and the boy with black hair in bed recovering.

Laura walked over to Mira after she was done with the boys and tapped on her shoulder.

"_Oh dearie, do you mind telling me your name again", _Laura politely asked.

"_Of course, I'm Mirajane, older sister to Lisanna and Elfman", _she chirped.

"_Oh yes, thank you. You're quite lovely. Helping your dear friends and watching over your siblings while helping around the cottage, but do you mind if I ask for a little assistance", _Laura smiled.

"_Well, of course", _Mira looked at her a little surprised.

She did not talk much to the others and rarely ever asked for help, so why now? Maybe because her house was a mess. That would make sense.

"_Your brother looks strong and there's only one other man awake. Could you possibly ask them to help rebuild the cottage? Also, I'm feeling a little stressed so I would like some company in the garden. Could you join me and ask your sister to watch over the boys", _Laura asked favorably.

The construction request made sense like she had thought, but now she wants company? That was a first. Just at that moment she heard Warren groan.

"_I would love to, I'll let them know but please excuse me first", _Mira answered and then dashed off to Warren's side.

The guys searching for Knightwalker seemed to be calling out. She didn't want to worry them so she spoke up right away while she was still a little out of breath. She wouldn't say much to them about her thoughts about the infiltrator and explained the situation briefly to them. As expected they were worried but she reassured them. They agreed not to radio in from their side, but respond when reached. With that being the case they needed to work fast.

After talking with her comrades she went to Laura's side and aided her in her garden.

A few more days had passed by and Laura had finally began to trust her. It was also due to the fact that she partially heard the urgency through her friends last telecommunication and knew they probably were aware of something troublesome like herself. They seemed to trust the Warren fella and Mira seemed close to him so she finally opened up more.

While in the garden one morning she told Mira everything and to her shock Mira had told her she already knew and she hoped she could tell her more.

"_It's obviously not you and I'm pretty much positive it is not Warren since nothing has come up since he talked to your friends. Your close to your siblings which gave me doubt in them, but only you could tell me if something was up with either of them", _Laura breathed out.

"_Their just like themselves", _Mira confirmed.

"_In that case, Freed and Nab are the only other options. Your friend Nab seems a little more suspicious though. He's very quiet", _Laura pointed out.

"_Nab is not much of a social butterfly. He usually is quiet...", _Mira said before starting to think.

"_He has seemed a lot more quiet than usual though. He helped fight off Midnight and Doriate before we arrived but when we all waited for you to wake he was not close by. After that day he did become more solemn", _Mira thought out loud.

"_We need to keep a watchful eye out for him", _Lady Laura clued in.

The two nodded in agreement and continued on their work.

Mira decided to speak with Elfman privately later on as he told her about when him and Nab went off for Freed and Warren. While he wasn't paying attention at one point, Nab slipped away somewhere and returned after Elfman found the guys. Mira warned him to be weary of Nab and to tell Lisanna the same.

After about a week passed since everyone left the six of them they finally caught something. At one point Nab began to groan and squeeze his head like he had a migraine. Mira and Lisanna rushed to his side and Freed sat up to watch. Without much care or warning Mira grabbed a magazine, rolled it up, and smacked Nab across the face. He ended up falling over on his side as Lisanna called out to her sister. At this point Mira was positive.

"_Nab", _she called out to him.

He had no response.

"_Why have you gone against us. We trusted you", _Mira scowled.

"_Can't...stop...can't...control", _he let out through grunts of pain.

"_He's fighting something. By the sounds of it", _Freed burst out.

Lisanna was shocked, but Mira remained unaffected. Lady Laura rose to her feet and moved to Mira's side and rested her hand on her arm.

"_It's not fully him", _Laura spit out. She was no longer her cheerful carefree self. Now that the person was discovered she had no reason to act anymore.

"_You mean to tell me he's being controlled", _Mira asked, her eyes never leaving Nab.

"_Precisely. He's finally fighting it back", _Laura responded as she focused on the man on the floor as well.

"_How can we help", _Elfman came in.

"_You can't. He must do this himself", _Laura scoffed.

"_You've never done a single job back at the guild. You proved yourself to be the most useless member of the guild. You never did much of anything beside stare at a board. You got fat over the years much like Droy, but he at least still tried to go on jobs", _Mira scolded Nab.

"_MIRA", _Lisanna exclaimed horrified by her attitude,

"_She's helping him", _Freed stood up and walked over to them.

"_To be honest I never really knew you were a member of the guild for at least a year. I always thought you were some weirdo tying to blend in with the others. I never even knew you had magic abilities", _Freed joined in.

"_I looked up to so many of the members when I was a kid. I wasn't much of a man then but I saw others who were. When I looked at you though, I knew you'd never be a man and amount to a thing and look at you now. I had a spark of hope when you beat the guy, but now, now I think it was for nothing", _Elfman lectured him.

Lisanna gulped and thought carefully over her words.

"_Nab... Please prove them wrong. You're a Fairy Tail member. You're family", _She smiled as a few tears fell down her cheeks.

...

Warren was feeling much better and was able to contact Natsu's group with Freed while Nab recovered. Mira and Laura inspected his body the night before and uncovered a hidden lacrima discreetly attached to Nab's clothing.

Freed explained the situation to Wakaba and heard from their side as well. Seeing as Knightwalker was still unconscious he look to Lady Laura for help. She spoke of a herb that could help and the next day they decided Natsu and Gajeel would go out looking for it while Wakaba and Laxus checked shops in the town. That day Gajeel managed to find a small plant that held the herb and brought it back to be boiled into a soup for Knightwalker. Her fever seemed to drop. Lucy, Ashley, and Juvia, when she returned, decided to watch over her throughout the night.


End file.
